Pharmacologic Aspects of Cigarette Smoking and Nicotine Addiction

NICOTINE has been consumed in the form of tobacco and other plants for many hundreds of years. The compulsive use of tobacco has been observed in nearly every culture into which tobacco has been introduced. Nearly 30 percent of adult Americans smoke despite, in most cases, a desire to quit and despite common knowledge of the health hazards.1 Their failure to quit smoking is attributable in large part to the addictive properties of nicotine. Recently, nicotine has become available as a pharmaceutical agent, marketed as a chewing gum to help people stop smoking. In addition to its direct effect on . . .